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One's personality is both a composition and reflection, but if I have to choose one of them, I will choose reflection as the "self" is more important to me than "me". One's composition may change, walking across the cultural landscapes and climbing the social ladder but one's self is tied to one's reflections. The fun part is that reflections are not bound to "Time-Space" barriers ( it is not time-space) and respective mental constructs, which have grown so thick over ages, that they had reduced the image of humans to Sisyphus, rolling different sizes of boulders on hills of different heights.… As the name of this Blog indicates, knols are my perspectives on topics of interests, sweet/bitter experiences or just doodling :)

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

"Soft" Power; India VS Pakistan

and now, why Pakistan walked on opposite direction, while sharing a common history and culture with India? Whenever, there is a talk about Indian and Pakistani culture, Pakistanis are quick in pointing to their "cultural superiority" by counting cuisines, language, music, performing arts, dresses, architectural trends that Muslims had introduced to India during Moguls but these arguments do not change the fact. Today, it is India that is successfully projecting herself as a soft power while Pakistan's image has tarnished even within and among Pakistanis. The notion that, "insecurity" had pushed Pakistan in choosing to use her strategic location for "borrowing power" to create a security balance and status quo, instead of choosing to use her strategic location as a energy and trade corridor is a plausible explanation. One of the most obvious and undeniable evidence comes from sponsoring of Jihadists and Islamists against Soviets at the cost of the local cultures, indigenous Paksitani cultural trends and intellectual growth. The Answer is there and it is written all over but it seems there is no change in hearts and minds as the level of insecurity has increased by rise of India and turning of "war on terror" into 21st century version of cold war scenario.

Internet and specifically social media has shifted the concept of "soft power" beyond States' policies. Although, state is still the main player but the increasing role of the masses in projecting cultural trends and image of a nation have become an undeniable force. Time will tell, whether Pakistan's young generation can overcome the sense of "insecurity" and fill the gaps to reconnect with the rest of the world or not?